They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 73 About Ice Jelly
Zeng Xiaoyan and Xu Zhichun exchanged a glance and smiled.

Zeng Xiaoyan was quite pleased with herself; this ice jelly was their business!

But she just wouldn't say it.

The transparent, jelly-like ice jelly is crushed in a pretty porcelain bowl, and you can add your favorite chopped nuts, fresh fruit pieces, or candied fruits, then pour brown sugar syrup over it. It's icy cold, refreshingly sweet, and incredibly smooth and tender—more delicious than any other dessert or pastry.

The famous ice jelly is incredibly popular in Qingshan City. No wealthy family doesn't love it, and they send someone to Bishui Tea House almost every day to buy some to take home and eat.

Even those from less affluent families might enjoy it occasionally, though they don't eat it every day. Some have only heard of it but never tried it, while others have only tasted it once or twice and still crave it. In short, no one dislikes it.

Upon hearing that there was ice jelly available, Zeng's ice jelly was naturally extraordinary. In addition to being topped with brown sugar syrup, it also contained a lot of chopped walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, candied fruit, and other ingredients, making it incredibly delicious.

Everyone who received it praised it.

"I didn't expect the Zeng family to prepare ice jelly. It's really good. I eat it every day at home."

"This ice jelly is so delicious, I never get tired of it! Everyone in my family loves it!"

"Is this the ice jelly? It looks so beautiful, I almost don't want to eat it."

"That's right, this is the first time I've ever seen it either, though I've heard about it many times."

"Delicious, this ice jelly is really delicious."

"Yes, only the Zeng family could have such good stuff. We're really in for a treat today."

"Yes, yes."

Zeng Mingzhu's expression softened, and she also picked up a bowl of ice jelly and slowly began to savor it.

This ice jelly is really something! It's icy cold, soft and smooth, and whatever you add determines its flavor, so everyone can have whatever they like.

When she came back this time, she tasted this food and immediately fell in love with it.

Unfortunately, this is something only Lotus Restaurant and Biyue Tea House have, so the Qin family would definitely not sell the recipe, and it won't be easy to get a taste in the future.

Aunt Liang was no longer in the flower hall; she had gone to sit and chat with a few people her age in another area, where they also received ice jelly.

Zeng Xiaoyan wasn't in a hurry to leave. She sat down with Xu Zhichun and they each ordered a bowl of ice jelly.

To be honest, when they craved ice jelly at Xu Zhichun's house, they would just add some brown sugar water, maybe some roasted and crushed peanuts and sesame seeds, and a couple of mint leaves. They had never tasted ice jelly with so many toppings before.

If you don't taste it, you won't taste it.

Although Aunt Lou lived in Loujia Village on the outskirts of the county town, she almost never went to the county town—she felt ashamed to go there, since her family originally had a shop in the town selling groceries.

Unexpectedly, her youngest son, Lou Er, became addicted to gambling. She took her daughter-in-law, Zeng Xiaojuan, to the Zeng family for help, but instead, she was scolded by Madam Zeng, who said that Lou Er was not learning good things and refused to help. When they left, they only received two packets of pastries.

Left with no other choice, the Lou family had to sell the shop and slink back to their village in the countryside.

After that, Aunt Lou was ashamed to go to the city, afraid that others would laugh at her.

She had never tried ice jelly before, and now, looking at this crystal-clear bowl filled with so many fragrant fruit pieces soaked in brown sugar syrup, it looked incredibly tempting. She couldn't wait to take a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.

Hearing others praise her, she quickly smiled and started praising them back.

He glanced at Zeng Xiaoyan, and his desire to curry favor and stir up trouble resurfaced.

"Has Miss Zeng tried this ice jelly before?" Zeng Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Yes, I have."

Aunt Lou didn't believe it at all, and said sarcastically, "If I remember correctly, didn't the Third Miss marry into that remote village called Liangjia Village? Could it be that they sell ice jelly there?"

Xu Zhichun laughed and said, "Didn't you ever think that we might be able to make this ice jelly too?"

Aunt Lou burst into laughter, "Is this Xiao Yan's sister-in-law? This joke is quite funny."

Some of the other guests couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

She thought to herself that while Miss Zeng's sister-in-law was joking, not everything could be joked about. This kind of joke wasn't funny at all, and she wasn't afraid of being laughed at.

Although Zeng Xiaoyan didn't know why her sister-in-law Zhichun said that, she just went along with it and said, "That's right, auntie, don't underestimate us. Maybe we really do know how to do it!"

"Oh my," Aunt Lou laughed heartily, "If you knew how to make this, our family could buy the Biyue Teahouse, hahaha!"

Zeng Mingzhu also sneered, mocking Zeng Xiaoyan: "That's enough, don't make people laugh. Now that you're in the Zeng family, you should at least consider the Zeng family's reputation."

Doesn't she know what kind of person this half-sister is? If she can make ice jelly, would she still be eating those cheap noodles on the street? Would she dare to give the ice jelly to the Lotus Restaurant instead of her own Sifang Restaurant?

This time, Zeng Xiaoyan didn't argue with Zeng Mingzhu. Instead, she smiled and said, "Sister is right. Since you don't like hearing this and don't believe me, I won't say anything more."

Zeng Mingzhu felt for no reason that what she said sounded a bit strange, but she didn't think much of it, just snorted and sneered, ignoring her.

After eating the ice jelly, Zeng Xiaoyan took Xu Zhichun out for a stroll.

There are many guests today, and quite a few guests and children are in the garden, chatting and laughing in twos and threes, or the children screaming, playing, chasing and running around.

The county town is, after all, a small place, and the separation of men and women is not so strict. At today's birthday banquet, there were male guests walking around in the Zeng family's back garden, but everyone was careful to avoid going to the places where the women gathered.

The women also do not deliberately go to the male guests.

On the way, Zeng Xiaoyan encountered the children from her stepmother's family playing and chasing each other, and she disgustedly moved aside.

These children clearly recognized her, but none of them paid any attention to her; they chased and hit her as she ran away.

Zeng Xiaoyan told Xu Zhichun about the children's identities and said sarcastically, "My stepmother is quite attentive to her family. Fresh peaches are a rare treat at this time of year, and it's hard for others to even get a taste. Only the Fang family's children can each have one."

It's only a month or two before the peach blossoms are in full bloom. This year's peaches are still small and fuzzy. The peaches that are fresh and edible are all winter peaches. This variety is difficult to grow, and it's even more difficult to keep the peaches on the tree until this time of year to eat them fresh.

Every year, the Zeng family would keep some fruit in their orchard, but of course, Zeng Xiaoyan wouldn't get any.

Xu Zhichun smiled with some surprise: "I didn't expect there would still be fresh peaches at this time of year!"

A thought struck her: wasn't this another opportunity for something good to be revealed? With so many people around, it was the perfect time to fish in troubled waters.

"Third Sister! Third Sister!"

A young woman, both surprised and delighted, ran over and looked at Zeng Xiaoyan with great joy.

"Second sister!"

Zeng Xiaoyan was also pleasantly surprised to see this half-sister.

(End of this chapter)